Of Lions and Lambs
by ravengal
Summary: [Human AU] With very few friends and a rabid fear of one of his classmates, Feliciano's longing for greener pastures in this crazy school. Is Ludwig really as bad as he seems, though?
1. Fear Factor

Author's note: Hi there!

... Gah! I couldn't do it. I tried really hard to hold this fic idea back, but it burned like a bonfire in my brain. XD So I had to write it.

This is the first time I've humanised the nations. Tis something I've been wanting to do for a while now.

It's also the first time in a very long while that I've written anything high school-related... It's a weird feeling...

I hope you enjoy it! All feedback is appreciated!

... I'm actually undecided if I want this to be a romance or a friendship. Or maybe it's fine as a one-shot? Tell me your thoughts! I'm happy to listen!

Over and out!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter One<strong>**: Fear Factor**

The prestigious school of World Academy was bustling with activity first thing in the morning. Students jostling past each other in large numbers created a sea of blue in the corridors. Amongst them, an Italian teen said something to the American teen beside him.

A very loud laugh rang throughout the corridor. "Dude, seriously?" the American asked incredulously. "You waved a white flag at him?"

"Si!" the Italian replied, fretting. "He's-a really scary! He was glaring at-a me and swearing at-a me and I swear his eyebrows were about to crawl off his face and eat-a me!" He pulled the white flag out of his bag to show him. "See? I always carry one around, just in case."

Alfred laughed again, his voice almost echoing down the corridor. "Dude, you are so weird." He reached out and tugged on Feliciano's stray curl. "Who knew you were afraid of juniors?"

Feliciano make a grunt of discomfort. "But Alfred..."

"Look, man, I know Arthur, okay? He's grumpy, British and has terrible taste in food, but he's no monster!" He let go of the curl as he entered their freshman homeroom. "Get a grip, man!"

"Si..."

Feliciano entered after him, his back straightening painfully as he walked past the first desk. _He_ was sitting at it, like usual. The tall, bulky and really scary German guy. Glancing at Ludwig's desk, he noticed that all of the German's stationary was perfectly aligned and in the exact same places they always were. Pen and pencil on the right, eraser and ruler on the left and pencil case at the top. Not a single slanted edge anywhere. Feliciano shuddered at the military precision this guy exercised before hurrying across the room to his own desk.

Ludwig was frightening. He'd only been sharing a homeroom – and a few other classes – with this guy for six months, but he was downright terrifying. The first time he'd tried to talk to him, he'd frozen halfway through his sentence, those piercing blue eyes glowering down at him. It was at that moment that he'd noticed how much taller and more muscular he was than him. The guy could break him in half if he wanted to and the look on his face had told him that he just might, if pushed. He'd never tried speaking to him again after that.

It was much the same with the rest of the class. A few students had tried to befriend the German, only to come away, intimidated. He just radiated an aura that said he really didn't want to be approached.

Alfred had made a game of it for a while, pestering Ludwig daily. He'd poke him, ask him why he was so grumpy, tell him to smile and then laugh loudly in his face. After a while, though, even he'd gotten bored of trying to talk to him. Feliciano was impressed that he'd been brave enough to get that far.

Speaking of Alfred, he was currently sitting at the front of the class, chatting with his cousin from... What was the country called again? Canadia? Either way, the family resemblance was clear. They looked almost identical.

He perked up as he saw Laura, the pretty Belgian girl of the class, walk past him. He waved to her.

"Ciao~!"

She looked at him in surprise, then gave a small smile of amusement before moving to take her seat.

He sighed, a light smile on his face. Funny, that always seemed to happen when he talked to people. Even the ones he managed to strike up a conversation with seemed oddly distant. It was hard making friends when they were always in a hurry to get away from you.

* * *

><p>"So, I told ze stuffy Austrian," the albino German said smugly, "to get bent. Never qvestion ze awesome Gilbert!"<p>

His French and Spanish friends, who were sitting on either side of him, chuckled. Across the table, Feliciano smiled pleasantly as he twirled his pasta around his fork.

It was lunchtime and he'd bumped into the trio on the way to the cafeteria, so he'd, naturally, tagged along with them. Having known Francis and Antonio for quite some years – despite him being two years younger than them – they were like older brothers to him. The new friend they'd made in high school, who was currently leaning so far back on his chair that it threatened to topple over any minute, was certainly interesting.

"Mon ami," Francis said smoothly, placing his chin in his hand, "why must you always cause trouble for zat 'andsome scoundrel?"

"Si, amigo," Antonio agreed. "You're always causing trouble for Roderich... and, sometimes, his kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really girlfriend."

Francis gave a delicate sigh, smiling to himself. "Ah, Elizabeta... you sexy 'ungarian..."

Gilbert gave a derisive snort. "Don't give me zat," he replied. "You two know as vell as I do zat zey're no saints, zemselves!"

"Oui, I suppose..."

"Zat stupid Roderich's alvays looking down his nose at me. _Me_, ze awesome Gilbert! And Elizabeta's alvays smacking me viz books for von zing or anozer." He grinned to himself. "Zey clearly don't appreciate my awesomeness."

Antonio chuckled. "Si, si..." he replied. After a moment, he turned to Feliciano. "Hey, Feliciano?"

"Si?" Feliciano replied with a smile and a mouthful of pasta.

"Where is your brother, anyway?"

"Oh, fratello's..." He paused, swallowing the pasta in thought. "Actually, I've no idea where he is!"

"Oh, that's right, you don't share homeroom."

"Nope! We share a couple of classes, but he prefers to be alone at break times."

He would have preferred to hang out with his older twin, but Lovino was always very insistent that he leave him 'the hell alone' these days. Exactly when he'd gained this independence was hard to say, but it saddened him sometimes.

As he cast his eyes over his current companions, he briefly wondered who he'd be eating lunch with tomorrow, as it was never the same people. Sometimes, he'd sit with Alfred and his stoic Japanese friend, Kiku. Sometimes, he'd sit with the friendly Elizabeta and her sometimes-scary-sometimes-kinda-cool friend, Roderich. Sometimes, he'd sit with the lazy Greek, Heracles, and his Turkish part-friend-part-arch-nemesis, Sadik.

Occasionally, he'd also try to sit with various pretty girls in the school, such as the Taiwanese girl, her Vietnamese friend and the tanned girl from Seychelles. The one time he'd tried to sit with the cute little Erika, her terrifying Swiss cousin, Basch, had chased him off by pelting books at his head.

He'd also tried sitting with the Chinese guy, Yao, who seemed nice enough, but was constantly being followed around by the tall creepy Russian guy, Ivan. Somehow, that guy managed to be even more terrifying than Ludwig. His two female relatives, Iryna and Natalya, were also rather intimidating, though in different ways. He couldn't deny they were pretty, though.

Really, it was amazing how many different cultures were mixed into this one particular academy. The school itself was situated in America, but every nation imaginable attended it. As his eyes scanned the room, seeing the various groups of friends who sat together every day, laughing and chatting, Feliciano couldn't help wishing he had that.

* * *

><p>As his three friends – or casual acquaintances, rather, but he wasn't going to complain – walked him to his next class, a familiar face approached from the other direction. Squealing in fear, Feliciano hid behind Antonio.<p>

"Ohon~" Francis chuckled, "why, if it isn't ze scone-eater~! Careful. 'is food 'as been known to kill wiz it's blandness."

Arthur skidded to a halt, glaring daggers at Francis. "You bloody wanker!" he yelled. He stormed forward and poked him in the ribs with his index finger. "I will have you know that there is nothing wrong with my bloody cooking!"

"Oui... if, by nozing, you mean it is cordon bleurgh."

"You bloody frog!" Arthur immediately leapt forward and began strangling Francis, who strangled him in return. "Like you know any better with your damn snails and frog legs, you cheese-eating surrender monkey!"

"Zey still tastes better zan your scones, you drunken pirate!"

Still hiding behind Antonio, Feliciano shivered. "Why it is always like-a this with them?" he murmured.

Gilbert snorted in amusement. "Zis is alvays awesome to vatch," he said. "Not as awesome as me, zough."

"Because, mi amigo," Antonio replied, turning to Feliciano, "those two can't get enough of each other."

Both Arthur and Francis turned to him, looking outraged.

"That's not bloody true!" Arthur yelled.

"Oui!" Francis yelled. "Zat is trés ridiculous!"

Antonio chuckled. "Sorry," he replied, not looking sorry at all. "I just love to get under your skin, Francis. It is muy entertaining."

"You fiend!"

"Bloody wanker!" Arthur yelled.

"I just don't-a get it..." Feliciano muttered.

After a moment, he looked up and froze. Across the corridor, Ludwig was standing with his arms folded, glasses perched on his nose and a fierce scowl on his face. He felt his knees quaking under the gaze.

"Oh, hey, Ludwig!" Gilbert called out, rushing over to him. Feliciano's mouth dropped open as the albino flung an arm around the taller German's body, not quite being able to reach his shoulders. "So, how's my awesome bro?"

... They were brothers? Suddenly, the bottom fell out of Feliciano's stomach. All this time, he'd been hanging out with... Ludwig's older brother? The rest of the Germans' conversation was drowned out by the ringing in his ears. Ludwig's older brother... But the two of them were nothing alike! Sure, Gilbert's ego could consume the school in one bite if it was a living thing, but he wasn't scary at all! This wasn't happening...

A few moments later, Gilbert returned, rolling his eyes and smirking. "My not-so-awesome brozer is complaining zat ve're going to be late for class and blah blah blah..." He reached over and pulled Francis away from Arthur by the back of his collar. "Come on, Francey-pants. Ve've got a class to get to."

Francis sighed. "Oui, you're right..." he replied with a small smile. "Same time next period, mon cher?" He gave Arthur a flirtatious wink.

Arthur's angry face burned in embarrassment. "You... bloody frog!" he replied, storming past him on the way to his own class.

"Ohonhon~! 'e is far too easy to fluster."

His knees still quaking, Feliciano watched silently as Ludwig retreated around the corner and out of sight.

* * *

><p>The following day, Feliciano was casually passing by an open window, on his way to his locker, when, suddenly, a loud booming voice erupted from outside, startling him half to death.<p>

"_Nein_, _zat is unacceptable_!" it yelled.

Quaking in his expensive boots, he peeked outside and, to his absolute horror, he saw the unmistakable form of Ludwig. He was holding some poor soul up by the back of his collar, several centimetres off the ground, and his captive was squirming frantically under his grip.

"Put-a me down, you potato-loving bastard!" the captive yelled. Oh, mio dio, it was Lovino. "Put-a me down, or you'll regret it!"

What did Lovino think he was _doing_, yelling at _Ludwig_? He was going to get himself really badly hurt, if he wasn't careful!

"Vhen you've learned how not to be an arschloch, zen you'll have earned ze right for me to put you down!"

"Get-a bent, kraut-face!"

A deep scowl on his face, Ludwig unceremoniously tossed Lovino away from him. He landed in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Fratello!" Feliciano yelled without thinking.

Ludwig turned to meet his gaze, cold steely eyes piercing into him. He felt his heart catch in his throat and get stuck there.

The moment seemed to drag on for an eternity as they stared at each other. Every second that passed caused another painful thump of his heart.

Eventually, Ludwig broke the gaze to turn and walk away. Letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, Feliciano took a moment to calm his frantically beating heart, then dashed off down the corridor to his locker.

* * *

><p>He was going to be late for art class. Well, this wasn't an unusual occurrence, but what <em>was<em> unusual – and quite annoying – was that he'd left his sketchbook in his English class. Had it really been there that long? How on Earth had he forgotten about it? All of his precious sketches were in that book!

He liked art class. Quite a lot, in fact. Hence why he was running down the corridors at a blinding pace he could only achieve when food, art or girls were involved. He didn't care so much for his other classes – hence why he often took siestas in them, much to the ire of his teachers – but art class was one thing he loved. He didn't want to miss a single second of that precious drawing time.

As he rounded a corner, however, he smacked into something hard. Something that felt rather like a brick wall as he fell over backwards and landed on the floor.

"Owwww..." he whined. "Mio dio, what-a was that?"

Blinking away the spots in his vision, he looked up to see what he'd run into. His blood immediately turned to ice. Of all the things to run into...

Ludwig glared down at him, his steely gaze as piercing as the day he'd met him. Quaking, he ducked his head fearfully.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Quickly fishing around in his bag, his fingers trembling, he pulled out his trusty white flag and prayed it would help him as he waved it around frantically. "Please, don't-a kill me!"

There was a short pause. After a moment, a sigh resonated from above him. "I'm not going to kill you, you dummkopf..." Ludwig said.

Confused, Feliciano looked up at him. "... Huh?"

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Uh... si?"

Kneeling down, Ludwig offered him his hand. Feliciano stared at it, his brain not comprehending what he was seeing.

"Vell? Are you going to take it, or not?"

"Uh..."

His other hand still clutching the white flag, he reached out and grabbed Ludwig's outstretched hand. In one fluid motion, the extremely strong teen pulled him to his feet.

"You're sure you're alright?"

"Uh, si..."

"Zat means 'yes', right?"

"S... Uh, yeah, it does..."

Ludwig gave a small huff. "Your clothes are all dusty now." Grabbing him by the shoulder, he effortlessly spun him around, then began brushing the dust off his blazer and pants. "You really should be more careful..."

"Uh... si..."

With a small grunt, he spun him around by the shoulder again, now beginning to brush the dust off his sides.

"Carelessly running zrough ze corridors like zat... You could get hurt... or you could hurt somebody else..."

"Uh..."

With another grunt, he ceased his dusting. "You can brush ze rest off, yourself. Now... if you're done running around like a headless chicken on fire, I need to get to class."

"Okay..."

"... Are you sure you're alright? You're acting veird..."

"Uh, si! Si, I'm fine..."

"Right..." Ludwig eyed him cautiously. "Vell... bye."

"Bye..."

The German began to walk away. After a moment, he paused. "Remember, no running in the ze corridors."

"Si..."

With one final grunt of affirmation, he disappeared.

Feliciano could barely think straight. His brain was a mess of static electricity. What the heck was that? Ludwig had been nice. _Nice_. Ludwig, the guy he'd been terrified of for the past six months, had been nice...

Slowly, he turned to look at the empty space that the German had occupied just moments before. Had that really just happened? It was so hard to believe. Ludwig had helped him off the floor, asked him if he was alright and dusted him off... He just couldn't process it.

After a long pause, a different part of his brain kicked in. He'd been nice. Maybe Ludwig wasn't such a bad person, after all. He'd seen a side of him today that he hadn't even thought existed. A thoughtful side. A caring side.

A smile started to spread across his face. Ludwig was nice. Eventually, the smile blossomed into a happy grin. Ludwig was really nice!


	2. Dust Kitten

Author's note: I'm back again, peeps! And with more humanised nations!

... Okay, seriously, do you guys want this to stay a friendship, or become a romance? Coz I have a romance plotline ready, if anyone wants it. Or should it be split into two fics? I'm still undecided.

Regardless, I hope you like the chapter!

... Also, I'm rather proud of the chapter name. XD I like sounding clever and pretentious.

**Chapter Two****: Dust Kitten**

Settling into the chair at his homeroom desk, Ludwig pulled out his pencil case and placed his stationary in their designated positions. It wasn't often he needed his stationery in homeroom, but it was always better to be prepared.

Straightening out every edge, until the objects on the desk were perfectly aligned, he sat upright, waiting patiently for the teacher to arrive. He was always first in the room, after all. He made sure to be.

A while later, the other students started to file in. As the teacher took her place at the front of the classroom, he let out a small breath, ready to start the day.

"Buongiorno, Ludwig~!" a voice called out from beside him.

He blinked. Frowning in confusion, he turned to see who'd addressed him. Beside his desk was the puny Italian student from the day before. The one who sat on the other side of the room. He was beaming at him while casually swinging his arms around.

"... Uh, hi..." he replied warily. Why was this guy talking to him? He'd never bothered talking to him before. "Vhat do you vant?"

"Oh, nothing~! Just wanted to say 'good morning'!"

"... Ja, vell, guten morgen..." He waited for him to go away.

"So, how are you on this fine morning~?"

"... Fine." Why wasn't he leaving him alone? The rest of the class was starting to stare now. He could even hear whispers beginning to spread. "Vill you go und sit down, already?"

"Aww, but I wanted to talk-a to you~!"

"... Vhat on Earz for?"

"Feliciano," the teacher said, "please sit down."

Feliciano turned to her. "Okie dokie~!" He skipped off to his seat by the window.

Sighing and shaking his head, Ludwig turned away. Well, that had been weird. At least it was over with now, though.

* * *

><p>Eventually, the bell rang. Having already packed his stationery away long beforehand – he liked being punctual – Ludwig grabbed his bag and left the classroom, on his way to his first class of the day.<p>

"Ludwig! Hey, Ludwig, waaaait!"

His confused frown returning, he turned to see the same Italian running up to him, his bag haphazardly thrown onto his shoulder. The smaller student smiled up at him.

"... Ja? Vhat?"

"Can I walk to class with you? We've got-a Math together~!"

"Uh..."

He didn't really know how to respond to this. Since when had this guy ever wanted to hang around him? He'd barely ever spoken to him before.

Feliciano bounced on the balls of his feet. "Well? Can I?"

"Uh... _vhy_?"

"Because you're nice! And I like nice people! So, can I? Please?"

Nice?

"Vell, I... guess?"

"Yay~! Grazie, Ludwig!"

Why did it even matter? They were going to the same classroom, anyway. What difference did it make whether or not they went together?

* * *

><p>On the way to Math class, Feliciano just would not stop talking. Pasta this and cats that. Telling Ludwig his plans to take something called 'siestas' and listing all the pretty girls in the school and... Why the hell was he talking to him?<p>

Once he was seated, he was certain that he'd get some peace. As he began taking out his books and stationery, however, he noticed Feliciano plant himself at the desk next to him. He frowned at him, both in confusion and annoyance.

"Feliciano..." he said.

"Si~?" Feliciano replied with a smile.

"Zat's not your desk."

"Nope~!"

Ludwig stared at him in disbelief. After a few moments, he heaved a sigh and sat back in his chair.

"Just vhat ze hell is wrong viz you...?"

A while later – Feliciano quietly singing to himself as he prepared his books – a shadow fell over the Italian. Ludwig watched apathetically as the smaller student looked up curiously, locking eyes with the Norwegian student who normally sat there.

Lukas stared into him, a frown on his face. "You're in my seat..." he said.

"Huh?" Feliciano replied. "Oh, well..."

Lukas tilted his head towards the back of the classroom. "Your seat is over there."

"Well, si, but..."

"I want to sit down now."

"Oh, please let-a me sit here! I want to sit next to Ludwig! 'Cause Ludwig's so nice and-"

Ludwig's eyes widened slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion. Why was he so obsessed with being near him today? What had he done to deserve this kind of attention? The only time they'd really interacted had been yesterday, when he'd pulled him off the floor. That wasn't really deserving of whatever _this_ was.

"Just get out of my chair."

Feliciano's smile drooped. "Oh, okay..." Grabbing his things, he moved to the back of the classroom. "See you later, Ludwig~!"

Ludwig watched him incredulously from the corner of his eyes. He really didn't understand that guy at all.

* * *

><p>"... Vhy ze holy Fuhrer are you still following me?" Ludwig asked, one eyebrow twitching.<p>

So far, the Italian had followed him to Math class and English class and, now, he was following him to recess. This was getting ridiculous.

"Because I like you~!" Feliciano replied, bounding after him.

Ludwig heaved a sigh. "You barely know me. Ve spoke _vonce_ in ze entire time I've been here." He rounded on him, a frown on his face. "How can you possibly know you like me?"

Feliciano continued to beam at him. "Because you were nice to me yesterday~!"

"... Uh?"

"You helped me off the floor and dusted me off and that-a was really nice of you~! So, can we hang out together?"

Ludwig paused, staring disbelievingly at him. Feeling a headache growing behind his temples, he heaved a sigh. "Fine. Vhatever."

"Yay~!"

* * *

><p>For the entirety of recess, the two of them sat on the grass. Feliciano was eating his second bag of chips from the vending machine, while Ludwig sipped a can of shandy that he'd brought from home. One day, he'd be old enough to drink beer, like his parents. He looked forward to that day.<p>

Whenever the Italian's mouth wasn't full of chips – and sometimes while it _was_ – he rambled on about pointless things. Pasta. Cats. Pizza. Siestas. Art. More pasta. He was rather tiresome to listen to.

Seriously, all he'd done was help him off the floor. One would think he'd saved his life, or something. This was just insane.

Ludwig's headache grew more and more painful the more he had to listen to him. Just why had he allowed him to tag along?

* * *

><p>He finally got a breather from the bothersome Italian when they realised that their next two classes were different. Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the locker room. Hopefully, it would be the last he'd see of him in such close proximity.<p>

Heading over to the corner of the room, he got out his gym clothes.

* * *

><p>After both Gym class and Physics class were over, he headed out towards his usual eating spot. With any luck, the crazy student from earlier would have gotten bored of him by now.<p>

As he rounded a corner, he almost ran into the student in question. The Italian beamed up at him.

"Oh, hey, Ludwig!" he said. "I was _hoping_ to run into you! Though not literally, like-a last time! Then you'd have to pick-a me off the floor and dust off my clothes again and I wouldn't-a want you to have to do that twice!"

The headache was suddenly returning again. "Vhat do you vant now?" Ludwig asked.

"Can I eat lunch with you?"

Ludwig stared at him. "Eat lunch viz me?"

"Si~!"

Enough was enough. "Nein." He walked past him.

"Huh? Wait!" He could hear those blasted hurried footsteps chasing after him. "Come on, Ludwig..."

"Stop following me!"

"But I want to eat-a lunch with you!"

Skidding to a halt, he turned on his heel to glare at the smaller student. Feliciano very nearly ran into him again.

"Vhy?"

"Eh?"

He subconsciously raised his voice. "Vhy vould you want to eat lunch viz me?"

Feliciano visibly cowered. Seeing the pitiful display felt rather like a kick to the stomach. He sighed, calming his voice.

"Just tell me vhy you von't stop following me..."

Feliciano suddenly brightened. "I told-a you! It's because I like you!"

"But... you don't even know me!"

"Well, that's true, but you're really nice! For the longest time, I thought-a you were really big and mean and scary and I was really terrified of you! But then, yesterday, you helped-a me off the floor! No one's ever done such a nice thing before and I never _expected_ anyone to do it, but I least expected it from _you_! That means you're actually really nice and not the big, mean, scary German that I _thought-a_ you were!" He paused a moment to take a breath. "So, _that's_ why I like you!"

Ludwig blinked. He blinked again. Then he suddenly felt his face grow awfully warm.

"Oh... um... vell..."

"Aww, you're blushing~!"

Grunting in displeasure, he closed his eyes for a moment. Goddamn it. He'd tried so hard to suppress this awkward side of him over the years. It seemed it hadn't gone away completely, _after_ all...

"So, can I eat lunch with you? Please~! Pretty please~!"

"Um... vell..." He cleared his throat, cursing his slight stutter. "I... suppose..."

"Yay~!"

"... Vell, come on, zen."

"Okie dokie~!"

Taking the lead, Ludwig began to walk Feliciano towards his favourite eating spot. It was a rather strange thought that he'd be sharing it with someone. He wasn't sure he was comfortable with sharing the space that he'd claimed for his own personal use. It felt rather like an invasion of privacy.

"Uh, Ludwig?"

"Ja?"

"The cafeteria's over _there_, silly!"

"I know, but zat's not vhere I'm going."

"You don't eat in the cafeteria?"

"Nein."

"Oh... then have you packed sandwiches, or something?"

"Ja." Ludwig stopped in his tracks, turning to face Feliciano. "You don't have anyzing packed?"

Feliciano threw him a sheepish smile. "Nope. I always eat in the cafeteria."

Ludwig groaned, running a hand down his face. He held that pose a moment as he thought things through. Eventually, he shook his head.

"Alright, fine. I guess ve'll eat in zere today, zen."

Feliciano brightened up. "Si?"

"Ja... zough pack a lunch or somezing tomo..." He trailed off as he realised what he was saying.

"Okie dokie~!"

Oh, scheisse. He'd just invited the dummkopf to eat with him more than once... Well, great...

* * *

><p>Ludwig impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. He didn't like eating in here. It was way too crowded and noisy. Glancing up at the queue, but not finding Feliciano, he sighed. Just what was he supposed to do in this situation? His food was right there, sitting in front of him – mocking him – and the person he was supposed to be eating with didn't have his food yet. What was the proper etiquette here? Was he supposed to wait until Feliciano got his food before eating? Or would it be alright to just eat it now? He really didn't know. If only he had a book on the subject...<p>

* * *

><p>A short while later, Feliciano appeared with a tray of pizza and fries and sat down beside Ludwig. The Italian beamed up at him.<p>

"Got-a my food~!" he said.

"Ja, so I see..." Ludwig replied. He pulled out a sandwich and began to chew on it.

Feliciano leaned uncomfortably close. "So, what's on your sandwiches?"

Ludwig leaned away awkwardly. "Lunchmeat."

"_Lunchmeat_? That sounds disgusting!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Vell, _you're_ not eating it, are you? Dummkopf..."

"I have pizza~!" Feliciano paused. "Though it's not-a very good pizza." He poked the offending object with his fork. "I can make better..."

Ludwig sighed. "Ja, school lunches aren't ze greatest... but zey do zeir job und zat's vhat's important."

"How boring..." Feliciano paused. "Though at least it's not as boring as your sandwiches~!"

Ludwig groaned. "I don't put lunchmeat on my sandviches because I _like_ it! It's efficient und easy to do."

"Really? Hmm... so what _do_ you like, Ludwig?"

Ludwig paused as he chewed and swallowed. "Wurst und potatoes."

"Verst? What's that?"

Ludwig gave him a side glance. "Are you making fun of my accent?" He received a confused tilt of the head in response. He sighed. "It's sausage. German sausage."

"Oh! Okay! It doesn't sound too bad~!"

Ludwig grunted, taking another bite of his sandwich. He noticed that Feliciano had yet to touch his pizza and fries.

"So, Ludwig, where are your friends, anyway?"

Ludwig halted mid-chew at this question. He looked at Feliciano, who was looking back at him with a curious smile on his face.

With a painful swallow, he took a deep breath and answered. "I don't have any."

Feliciano flinched back in shock. "Ehhhh? You don't have any?"

Ludwig winced, choosing to stare at his sandwich, instead. "Nein. I don't."

"Why not?"

"... Zey're a distraction."

"Eh?"

He tried to maintain his composure. "I need to concentrate on schoolvork. Friends vould only be a distraction."

"No, they wouldn't! They'd make-a you happy and you deserve to be happy, because you're a really nice guy!"

Damn it. From the corner of his vision, he could see people staring again. Why was his personal life so damned fascinating, all of a sudden?

"_I'll_ be your friend, then!"

Ludwig's brain screeched to a halt. He turned to look at Feliciano. "Vait... vhat?"

The Italian nodded in determination, stuffing a piece of pizza into his mouth. "Shi! Uh'll be yo' frin~!"

He scowled at him, disgusted. "Don't talk viz your mouz full!"

Fretting, Feliciano quickly swallowed the pizza, almost choking on it. After a moment, he smiled up at him. "Do you want to be friends~?"

Ludwig stared at him. "... _Friends_?"

He rolled the foreign word around his tongue. Merely speaking it aloud was causing a weird emotion to blossom in his chest. He didn't immediately recognise it, but it felt... oddly nice. Like someone had placed a fluffy blanket over his heart.

"Si! Friends~!"

Ludwig continued to stare. He blinked once. Twice. Then he felt the tiniest corner of his mouth twitch upwards.

"Ja... sure... Friends..."


	3. Building Blocks

Author's note: Hi there!

This time, we have bonding time~! Yay~!

... I've been thinking. What do you fine folks think about there being two fics? This one being a friendship and the sequel being a romance. That way, everybody wins!

(Coz I adore these two characters either way. Whether they're friends or more than that.)

Let me know your thoughts, as well as what you think of the fic itself.

Hope you like it!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Three<strong>**: Building Blocks**

"Buongiorno, Ludwig~!" a familiar voice called out.

Ludwig turned to see his new... friend, Feliciano, standing by his desk and beaming at him. Friend. It would certainly take a while to get used to calling the Italian that. That was what he _was_ now, though, right? They'd agreed upon this only the day before.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards slightly as he nodded at him. "Guten morgen," he replied.

Looking very pleased with himself, Feliciano skipped off to his seat.

* * *

><p>A part of Ludwig may have been <em>expecting<em> Feliciano to continue following him, but it was still very weird to actually see him doing it. Being tailed everywhere he went – especially by someone who refused to shut up – was a very unfamiliar experience. Was this what having friends was like? It'd been so long since he'd actually had one...

* * *

><p>At lunchtime, Ludwig took Feliciano to his favourite eating spot. It was nothing special, really – just a section of grass by the surrounding metal fence – but it was nice and quiet here. Most of the students preferred to eat in the cafeteria, so the yard was rather peaceful at lunchtimes.<p>

Sitting on the grass and leaning against the fence, he idly watched as Feliciano sat next to him. Good grief, this guy was clingy.

"This place is nice~!" Feliciano said as he took out his sandwiches.

"Ja," Ludwig replied, taking out his own sandwiches. "I eat here a lot."

"I can see why~!"

As Ludwig chewed his sandwich, he glanced at his... friend. How was it possible for a guy to be this happy, all the time? Come to think of it, even in the six months they hadn't bothered talking to one another, he'd seen him do nothing but smile... and cower.

He paused, remembering what the Italian had said the day before. Scary. Big, mean and scary. Was that really what he'd thought of him all that time? Was he really that scary?

"Wow, it's hot today..."

Ludwig paused to contemplate this statement. He hummed in agreement; it _was_ awfully warm for February.

Putting his sandwich down, he took off his blazer, neatly folded it and placed it to one side. Looking at Feliciano, he stared when he saw the student's blazer haphazardly thrown on the grass.

"Aren't you going to-?"

"Holy peperoni!"

Ludwig blinked at him, confused. "... Vhat?"

Feliciano scooted closer, staring intently at Ludwig's uncovered arm. "Mio dio, your muscles are huge!"

"Oh. Ja."

The Italian put down his sandwich, only to grab Ludwig's arm and squeeze it. Ludwig suddenly felt rather uncomfortable.

"Whooooa! How the raging ravioli do you get-a muscles this big?"

"Uh, vell... it's partly genetics... since boz my fazer und my grandfazer have zem, too."

"Wow, really?"

"Ja... zough I also exercise a lot. Every day, I go running und lift veights."

"Well, no wonder you're built-a like a truck~!" Finally letting go, Feliciano showed off his own arms. "I'm so flabby, in comparison."

"Ja..."

Ludwig did have to admit, there appeared to be barely any muscle mass on the Italian's arms.

"Oh! What about your brother, Gilbert?"

"Oh, you know Gilbert?"

"Si~! He hangs out-a with my Big Brother Francis and my Big Brother Antonio~!"

"Oh, you mean zose French and Spanish dummkopfs?" Ludwig paused. "Ja, I did see you viz zem ze ozer day..."

"Si~!" Feliciano paused. "What's a doomcof?"

"An idiot. Anyvay, I take it zey're not actually your brozers?"

"Nope~! Though they're _like_ big brothers to me!"

"Ah, okay zen."

"So, si! What about Gilbert? He's not all tall and bulky like you!"

"Ja... vell, my brozer does a lot of exercising, too... zough his genes aren't qvite ze same."

Feliciano tilted his head. "They're not?"

"Nein. He's actually my half-brozer."

Feliciano's head straightened. "He is?"

"Ja."

Feliciano smiled. "That's pretty cool! I have a brother, too, but he's not a half-brother!"

"Is zat so?"

"Si~!"

They took a small break to eat some more of their sandwiches.

"Your muscles really are huge! I wish I had muscles like yours~! Then I'd pick up _all_ the ladies~!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should vork out more, zen."

"Ohhh, but I hate exercise..."

Ludwig sighed. It hadn't escaped his notice that Feliciano usually fell asleep in class, so he'd already pegged him as lazy long before talking to him.

"But I wasn't wrong, it seems~!"

"Hmm?"

"You really _could-a_ break me in half, if you wanted to! That's part of what made you so scary! Well, that and the grumpy face."

Ludwig paused again. "... I'm zat scary?"

"Well, not anymore, you're not~! 'Cause now I know you're nice!"

Feliciano suddenly dropped down and hugged him around the torso. The sudden contact almost caused Ludwig to drop his sandwich.

"Vh-Vhat are you _doing_?"

"I like you~! And I'm Italian, so we tend to hug-a people we like~!"

... Dear gott, his face was heating up again, wasn't it? Blasted Italians and their blasted displays of public affection...

Using one hand, he gently pushed Feliciano off him. All he got in response from the Italian was the same bright smile.

Suddenly, he remembered something. "... Oh, zat's right... you vaved a vhite flag at me yesterday, didn't you?"

"Oh, si!"

"... Do you _alvays_ carry around a vhite flag?"

"Si!" Feliciano fished around in his bag and pulled out the white flag in question. "I carry it around, just in case I run into anyone scary! Like you, or Arthur!"

"... Who's Arzur?"

"He's British. Junior year. Ginoooormous eyebrows."

Ludwig thought about this for a minute. "Oh, ja, I zink I know who you mean. He's alvays svearing at people vhenever I see him."

"Si, si, that's him!" Feliciano shuddered. "I ran into him the other day and he called-a me something really horrible and I got-a really scared and waved my white flag at him..."

Ludwig cast his eyes to the sky and shook his head. "Vhat do you zink zis is? Vorld Var Two?"

"Eh?"

"Because of ze vhite flags and surrendering to ze British and-"

"Is it siesta time, already?"

"... Huh?"

"Anything history-related usually means it's siesta time!"

"... Hazarding a guess... a siesta's a nap, right?"

"Si~!"

"... Zought so."

Rolling his eyes again, Ludwig took a bite of his sandwich. Feliciano put away his white flag and picked up his own sandwich, taking a happy bite out of it.

After a short while of silence, something occurred to Ludwig. Feliciano had done nothing but follow him around for the past two days. What had he done _before_ he'd stopped being afraid of him?

"Feliciano?"

"Shi~?"

He frowned at him. "Vhat did I say about talking viz your mouz full?"

"Oh, shorry..." He swallowed, then beamed. "Si?"

Ludwig relaxed his frown. "Vhere are your ozer friends?"

"Hmm?"

"Von't zey be missing you, or somezing?"

Feliciano chuckled. "Nope! I don't-a really have any friends!"

Ludwig paused. "You don't?"

"Nope! Well, sort of, but not-a really. They're not _friends_, as such, but more like..."

"Acqvaintances?"

"Si~"

"... So, _you've_ got no friends, eizer?"

"Not technically, no~! They all think I'm kinda weird and annoying, so I don't-a get to spend too long with them at any one time. I don't know why they'd think-a that, though!" He paused a moment. "Oh! I almost forgot! I saw a really cute kitty on the way to school this morning! It was small and brown and it made a cute little meowing noise when I picked it up! It was adorable~! But then it licked-a me and it hurt, Ludwig! It really hurt! Its tongue was all rough like sandpaper and I wanted to get out-a my white flag and surrender, but I couldn't, because I was holding the cat!" He continued to ramble.

Ludwig lowered his voice to a mumble. "Ja, I... can't imagine vhy..."

So, since neither of them had any friends, did this mean they would spend every day together now? Ludwig wasn't sure how he felt about this. On one hand, it was nice spending time in the company of another person and finally having someone he could call a... friend. On the other, it was Feliciano...

* * *

><p>Feliciano smiled to himself as he finished his sandwich. It was nice eating his lunch outside. He had a feeling he was way ahead of schedule – due to not having to spend eighty years queuing for his food – but he didn't mind. It gave him more time to enjoy the scenery and his new company.<p>

Looking at Ludwig now, it was hard to believe that he'd ever found the guy scary. He was a big blushy teddy bear! And neither of them had friends, so it was perfect! They could be each other's friend!

As he pulled an apple juicebox from his bag and fiddled with the straw, a thought came to mind. Leaning back against the fence, he poked the straw through the drink.

"Say, Ludwig?" he asked, taking a sip.

"Ja?" Ludwig replied, cracking open a can of cola.

"I can't-a remember your surname..." He tilted his head back and forth as he tried to remember. "What-a was it, again?"

Ludwig let out a breath. Feliciano supposed that was his way of releasing stress, but he looked no more relaxed than before.

"Kaiser."

"Oh, si, that was it! Kaiser!"

"Ja." Ludwig paused, giving him a side glance. "Und vhat vas yours, again?"

Feliciano puffed out his chest. "Vargas! My brother has that name, too!" He paused a moment. "Oh, wait... I don't think Gilbert's surname was Kaiser..."

"Nein. It's Beilschmidt."

"Oh, si, because you're half-brothers! That makes sense!"

"Ja."

"It also explains why the two of you look-a nothing alike!"

"Ja. He gets his looks from his fazer."

"Oh, okay~!"

"... I also hear zat _zat_ side of ze family has Prussian heritage. I don't know how true it is, but..." He pulled a face. "Gilbert likes to brag about it. A lot."

Feliciano giggled. "You mean the _awesome_ Gilbert~?"

Ludwig's mouth twitched upwards slightly. "Ja."

There was a comfortable silence as they sipped their drinks. After a while, Feliciano beamed at Ludwig.

"So, Luddy!"

Ludwig gave him a blank stare over the rim of his can. "Please, don't call me zat..."

"Can I hang out with you again tomorrow?"

There was a slight pause. After a moment, Ludwig lowered the can and sighed. "Ja, sure..."

"Yay~! Are we eating _here_, again?"

"If you vant."

"Okie dokie~! It's nice eating here~! I'll be sure to bring sandwiches again!"

"Alright, sure."

"And then we can hang out the day after that and the day after that and the-"

"... Are you qvite sure you don't have any ozer friends?"

"Si! Quite sure~"

"... Right."

"So, did-a you have lunchmeat on your sandwiches again?"

"Ja."

Feliciano pulled a face. "Yuck!"

"Not zis scheisse again..."

He smiled. "So, what _type_ of lunchmeat was it?"

"It vas turkey."

"Okay! I had olives and tomatoes on mine~!"

"Huh. Razer exotic."

"Siiii~! I couldn't-a bring myself to put that boring lunchmeat on it, so I took some of fratello's... uh, that means 'brother's' in Italian... tomatoes!"

"Right..." There was a pause. "Vas it nice?"

"Si~! Oh! I could make _you_ some, too, if you want~!"

Ludwig glanced at him, looking surprised. "Nein, you don't have to do zat."

"No, I want to~! Anything to stop my new friend from eating that icky lunchmeat~!"

Ludwig heaved a sigh. After a few moments, he responded. "Ja, sure. Do vhatever you vant."

"Yay~!"

Being around this grumpy German was so much fun. Never, in his wildest dreams, had Feliciano ever expected to become friends with him. They made an odd pair, sure, but he rather regretted not befriending him sooner. He was fascinating to talk to! And, most importantly, he hadn't told him to get lost yet!

... He could really stand to smile more, though. Those frown lines couldn't be good for his complexion! And he had such a pretty face – for a big, scary German, anyway – so it would be a shame to spoil it.

Unable to stop smiling, he started up another conversation.


	4. Poles Apart

Author's note: Howdy hey!

... You know what? Yeah. I've decided that they're gonna be two separate fics. XP One for friendship and one for romance.

Right now, enjoy the friendship! Coz I have to drag you lot through the friendship storyline first, anyway. It connects to the romance one later.

Hope you enjoy it!

P.S. I hope the accents aren't annoying anybody. Lol. They're really fun to write and help me hear their voices in my head better. If they are, sorry!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Four<strong>**: Poles Apart**

A week of hanging out and eating lunch together – save for the weekend, of course – went by rather quickly. Feliciano continued to make Ludwig sandwiches – all of which the German complimented, much to the delight of his Italian pride – and they continued to hang out together whenever they had free time. It was really nice having someone to spend all his time in school with! He hadn't had that in ages.

Wishing his new friend good morning, as usual, Feliciano skipped over to his seat.

A short while after he'd sat down, a pair of hands landed on his desk. Looking up in surprise, he came face-to-face with a grinning Alfred.

"Feliciano, my man!" Alfred cried.

"Oh, buongiorno, Alfred!" he replied, smiling back.

"So, what's all this nonsense I've been hearing about you and Ludwig?"

Feliciano tilted his head in confusion. "Me and Ludwig?"

"Yeah, dude! Everyone in our class has been talking about it! About how you and Mr. Grumpy Guts over there have been hanging out lately!" He laughed loudly. "But that can't be right, 'cause you're terrified of the guy! And he's no social butterfly, himself!"

Alfred's cousin seemed to appear out of thin air beside the American. "Yeah..." he added, "and some people have said they've heard you... um... wishing him good morning... Oh, speaking of which, good morning, Feliciano."

Feliciano smiled. "Buongiorno, Michael!" he replied.

"It's Matthew..."

"And si! It's true! Ludwig and I are friends now~"

Alfred stared at him, long and hard, for a few moments. Then he burst out laughing. "Oh, man!" he said. "Good one, dude! You almost had me for a second there!"

"No, really! He's actually really nice when you get to know him~"

Alfred stared at him again. "Hold on a minute... we _are_ still talking about _Ludwig_, right?" He pointed at Ludwig, who was sitting across the room. "_That_ Ludwig? Grumpy German Ludwig?"

"Si~"

Alfred paused a long moment, then turned to his cousin. "Martin, dude, I think we need to get him a doctor..."

"It's Matthew..." his cousin replied. He turned to Feliciano. "And what Alfred _means_ to say is... it seems unlikely, since you're both so... um... different."

"Different?" Feliciano asked.

"Well, yeah, dude!" Alfred replied. "You're goofy and weird and talk too much and he's stern and serious with a stick so far up his ass that it's poking his brain!"

"That's not very nice, eh?" his cousin mumbled.

"Aww, Ludwig may _look_ big and scary," Feliciano said, "but he's actually really nice! Maybe even a bit shy~"

Alfred looked at him incredulously, then whipped his head around to stare at Ludwig. "_Shy_?" he asked. "_Him_?"

"Si~"

"... Well, it might explain a few things..." his cousin said.

"Like what, Mitchell?" Alfred asked, still staring over at Ludwig.

"It's Matthew... Anyway, it might explain how he never talks to anybody or doesn't seem to have any friends..."

"But he's so grumpy!" Alfred turned back to his cousin. "I mean, _I_ tried getting him to open up, but he just _wouldn't_, man! He just kept glaring at me and calling me some weird German word I can't remember!" He grinned. "And you _must_ be a total grump to not want to be the hero's friend!" He laughed loudly.

"... You're still on aboot this hero business?"

"Hell yeah, brah!"

His cousin sighed. "You pull one cat out of a tree and you get a hero complex..."

"Dude, ain't nothing complex about it."

"Alfred, Malcolm," the teacher said as she entered the room, "take your seats, please."

"Sure thing, teach!" Alfred marched off to his seat.

Trudging behind him, his cousin heaved a sigh. "It's Matthew..." he mumbled.

* * *

><p>Meeting up with Feliciano at lunchtime, Ludwig shepherded him down the corridors, occasionally pulling him out of the way of passers-by and earning a bright smile in response. Honestly, the Italian was so clumsy.<p>

As they rounded a corner, they encountered two other Italians chatting to one another near a set of lockers. The taller one – who had a strangely bent curl – was grinning cheekily, while the shorter one was huffing angrily. Recognising the latter, Ludwig frowned slightly.

"No need to be-a so grouchy, eh?" the taller one said. "You need to lighten-a up a little."

"Don't-a you tell me to lighten up, you bastard!" the shorter one said.

"Oh, it's fratello!" Feliciano said, stopping by them. Ludwig stopped beside him. Feliciano waved. "Ciao, fratello!"

The two Italians looked at them. "Oh, is-a this the brother you told me about?" the taller one asked. He gave a wink and a small wave. "Ciao, little guy!"

... Brother?

"Yeah, yeah," the shorter one said, "ciao, ya bas-" He noticed Ludwig and froze.

The two stared at each other. This guy was Feliciano's brother? Then again, he'd heard Feliciano yell the word 'fratello' during that slight scrap the week before, hadn't he? He hadn't known what it meant at the time, but now... It also explained why they looked so alike...

The shorter Italian glared at him, hard. "What-a the crapola do _you_ want?"

"Oh, that's-a right!" Feliciano said. "You two know each other, don't-a you?"

"Pfft. Barely, thank-a dio."

"I saw you two get into a fight a few days ago."

"Ze von vhere he vouldn't stop kicking me?" Ludwig asked.

"Well, if you weren't-a being such a bastard," the other Italian snapped, "I wouldn't have _had_ to kick you... you bastard!"

The taller Italian grinned. "So, you-a two had a fight, eh?" he asked.

"Si."

"And it looks-a like another one's about to break out! I'd-a love to stay and watch, but I've-a got a date with a pretty Korean girl this-a lunchtime and I don't wanna be late. Tell-a me all about it later, Lovino. Ciao!" He gave another short wave before walking off.

"Ciao!" Feliciano replied, waving back. He turned back to his brother. "He seemed nice. Is he your new friend, fratello?"

"Never mind him!" Lovino replied. He jabbed a finger in Ludwig's direction. "Why the hell is _he_ here?"

"Oh! That's right! I didn't introduce you two!" He turned to Ludwig. "Ludwig, this is my big brother, Lovino! Well, actually, he's my twin, but, since he's two minutes older than me, he prefers to be called-a my _big_ brother..." He turned to Lovino. "And, Lovino, this is my new friend, Ludwig!"

"_Friend_? What do you mean _friend_? You can't-a possibly be telling me that you're friends with this potato-loving bastard!"

"Oh, but, fratello, Ludwig's really nice!"

"Tch. I knew you had-a rocks for brains, but this is ridicolo!"

"No, really, he is! He may look-a big and mean and scary, but he's a really really nice guy!"

... Again with the 'scary' comment. Ludwig knew he was rather tall and bulky for his age, but...

"Tch..." Lovino paused, then marched up to Ludwig. He poked him in the chest several times with his index finger. "Look here, krauty-kraut! You better not do anything to hurt Feliciano, or I swear to god..."

Ludwig stared coolly down at him. "I have no intention of hurting your brozer," he replied.

Lovino huffed. After a moment, he turned on his heel. "Whatever." He paused. "You have the weirdest taste in friends, fratello." He stormed off.

* * *

><p>Sitting outside on the grass, Feliciano pulled out two plastic sandwich boxes, then handed one to Ludwig.<p>

"Here you goooo~!" he said.

"Danke," Ludwig replied, taking the box.

As they ate their sandwiches in the cool midday air, Feliciano felt the ever-present need to talk.

"Sorry about-a my brother earlier. He's so silly!"

"... Zat's _von_ word for it..."

Feliciano giggled. "Si, si... he can be a real grumpy-pants."

"So I've noticed."

"Oh! By the way! On the way to school this morning, I flirted-a with the pretty Mo... Mono... Monocan... What do you call someone who comes from Monaco?"

"A... Monegasque, I zink."

"Really? I'm not-a going to remember that!" Feliciano paused. "Anyway, I flirted-a with her and she almost smiled at me! Almost."

"Is zat so?"

"Siiii~! Then she asked if I play poker. I said I don't, so she left. Maybe I should learn! Then I could-a go back and impress her!" Ludwig sighed in response. "The girls in this school are so pretty, aren't they? Especially Laura. Though she hangs around with that stern tall guy, Tim. From the Netherlands, I think. Anyway... are there any _you_ like?"

"Not really. I don't really pay zem much attention."

"Really? Wow, I don't understand that at all!"

"Not everyvon has nozing but pasta und girls on ze brain..."

"Hey, I don't _always_ think of only pasta and girls!"

"Oh?"

"Si! Sometimes, I think of pizza! Or cats! Or siestas! Or art!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes, sighing again. "Of course..."

"I love art class~! It's my favourite. I get to draw all sorts of things! One of my favourites is still life... though I love all kinds of art!"

"Ja, you alvays do talk about art..."

"Siii~!" He proudly puffed out his chest. "My Grandpa Roma says I have a natural gift for art!" He relaxed, smiling. "Do _you_ like art, Ludwig?"

"... Vell, I confess... it's nice to look at, but... drawing isn't von of my strengths..."

"It's not?"

"Nein." The German's face turned a light shade of pink. "I'm... not very good at it..."

Feliciano could never help but be amused every time Ludwig's face changed colour. It was like some otherworldly being was breathing life into a statue.

"Oh well, we can't all be artistically-gifted-a like me! Even Lovino doesn't have _my_ talent!"

"Is zat so?"

"Yup! I like sketching and inking, but I'm-a _really_ good at painting!" He paused. "What's _your_ favourite class?"

"Gym."

"Ehhhh? Really? I hate gym... I try to skip it whenever I can!"

One of Ludwig's eyebrows twitched. "Is zat so?"

"Si!"

"And you vonder vhy you're not very muscular..."

Feliciano chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in partial embarrassment. The other part was a swelling of Italian pride at being so lazy.

He paused as Ludwig ate more of his sandwich. Normally, he'd be wolfing down his own lunch, but, this last week, he'd been doing far more talking than eating. It was weird, but he wasn't complaining.

"So, anyway! I was thinking of doing an art course in college! Maybe I'll follow a career in it, or something! That would be so fun! Are _you_ going to college, Ludwig?"

Ludwig paused mid-chew for a moment. He seemed to ponder his answer very carefully as he continued his chewing and swallowing.

"Probably not."

"Oh? You're going straight into work?"

"... Nein."

"Hmm?"

"... I'll... probably join ze army."

Feliciano's eyes shot open. "The... the army?"

Ludwig stared at him for a second. "Huh... it's not often I see you viz your eyes open..."

He immediately closed them. "Never mind-a my eyes! What do you mean you're joining the army?"

"Exactly zat. My... fazer und grandfazer boz joined... so I zink I vill, too."

"But... but it's dangerous!"

Ludwig gave him a half-lidded stare. "I'm vell avare of zat..."

"What if you go to war and you get hit-a by a bomb and die? Or you get ambushed by the enemy and die? Or you fall into a hole and die? Or you wander around the desert, desperately trying to find-a water, because you're dying of thirst, because your teammates have all used up the water by boiling pasta, and d-?"

"Feliciano! Stop. I'll be fine..."

"How do you know?"

"It's in my blood to join ze military. I'll be fine." He paused a long moment. "And, if not... vell, at least I'll die knowing zat I served my country." He paused again, looking thoughtful.

"Ohhhh... I don't-a like the sound of this job... Is Gilbert joining, too?"

"Nein. He has stated multiple times zat he's not interested."

"Really? What does _he_ want to do?"

"He's set on being 'ze vorld's most awesome engineer', for some reason..."

"Oh..." Feliciano paused. "Don't-a _you_ want to be an engineer, too?"

"Nein."

"Oh..." He paused again, shuffling awkwardly. "Is there nothing _else_ you want to be?"

Ludwig looked at him curiously, then frowned in thought. "Hmm... vell... I suppose I vouldn't mind being a gym coach, or somezing..."

Feliciano froze at that. "A... gym coach?"

"Ja."

Oddly, Feliciano could see it. Tall, muscular Ludwig, standing stern with a hat and whistle, barking orders at students... no, athletes – since his talents would honestly be wasted on students – as they did fifty push-ups, or ran fifty laps. The image was terrifying.

He shuddered. "Well, it's better than joining the army..."

"Hmm..."

Come to think of it, though, Ludwig would make the perfect soldier, too. Always standing to attention, always doing as he was told... never holding back. That 'military precision' that he always exercised in class could be put to good use on a battlefield.

"But... I guess it's your choice in the end, Ludwig." He smiled at his German friend. "Though I do hope you don't die."

"Hey, I'm not joining _yet_... I have to leave high school first."

"I know, I know! I just wouldn't want anything to happen to my good friend~"

The light pink tint returned to Ludwig's cheeks as he looked away. The sight of this alone was enough to cheer Feliciano up. The German really was incredibly shy about his feelings, wasn't he? It was rather adorable!

His stomach suddenly grumbled, reminding him that he still hadn't touched his sandwiches. Recovering from the surprise, he laughed at his forgetfulness. This earned him an eye roll from Ludwig.

They continued eating their sandwiches in peace.


	5. Seeing Red

Author's note: Heya, guys!

... I'm sorry about this. This thing you're about to read. XD Except I'm not. Not really.

I'm still going with the 'separate fic' idea, by the way. Just saying.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Five<strong>**: Seeing Red**

Feliciano skipped down the street towards the bus stop, protectively clutching the bag on his shoulder with a huge smile on his face. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this sooner! The idea had hit him over the weekend, causing him to bop himself on the head and laugh at his own stupidity. When he'd pitched the idea to his brother, however, Lovino had proceeded with the yelling and the smacking and the strangling, all of which was relatively normal behaviour for him.

Regardless, Feliciano was not to be deterred! It was a brilliant idea, if he did say so, himself. His new friend would be so surprised!

* * *

><p>"Buongiorno, Ludwig~!" he said, beaming at his German friend.<p>

Ludwig nodded at him. "Guten morgen," he replied.

"How are you today~?" He clutched the bag at his side.

"Fine, danke."

"That's good~"

He was about to say something else, but the teacher's arrival halted him. Well, he supposed it could wait until later. Still smiling, he skipped off to his seat.

* * *

><p>Once homeroom was over, Feliciano flung his bag over his shoulder and hurried after Ludwig, who had already disappeared. Seriously, how did that guy manage to be first out of the room every time? He had quite a job keeping up with him! And his poor Italian body just wasn't built for this much exercise!<p>

"Ludwig!" he called out.

Ludwig sighed, slowing down slightly. "Ja, ja..." he replied.

"You really should learn to slow down..."

The German huffed. "Maybe you should learn to speed up."

Feliciano pouted. "You're mean..." After a moment, he brightened. "Anyway, I've got a present for you!"

Ludwig turned to him, looking surprised. "A present?"

"Si~!"

"Oh, vell..." Ludwig looked away again. "You didn't have to, but danke. I'll... take it at recess."

"Aww, why not now?"

"Because ve have to get to class now."

"Aww." Feliciano paused, then smiled. "Well, okie dokie!"

* * *

><p>Eventually, after what had felt like an agonisingly long wait – most of which Feliciano had spent bouncing in his seat – it was recess. The moment the bell rang, the Italian bolted from the room in search of his German friend. By the time he found him – after dashing down several corridors, almost running into Arthur and getting called a 'bloody wanker', screaming in fright at the angry Briton and running away, thereby taking the long way around the building – he was exhausted and most of the students were no longer around.<p>

"C... Ciao~!" he panted.

"Oh, _zere_ you are..." Ludwig replied. He paused as he looked him over. "Good grief... vere you running down ze corridors again?"

"S... Si~"

Ludwig poked him several times in the forehead with his index finger. "Vhat have I told you about doing zat? It's dangerous! It's almost like you're _trying_ to crash into ozer students!"

"S... Sorry~"

Ludwig made a noise halfway between a grunt and a sigh. "You dummkopf..." He turned around. "Vell, vhatever. Let's just get going. Zere isn't much of recess left."

"Oh! Wait!"

Ludwig turned back around to look at him. "Vhat is it now?"

"I have a present for you! Remember?"

"Oh, ja." He seemed to have his full attention now. "Vell, alright, zen. Vhat is it?"

Feliciano flashed a grin. "Uno minuti!" He fished around in his bag. After a long moment, he found what he was looking for. "Aha!" Pulling it out, he held it out to his friend. "Here you go~!"

Ludwig's face froze in an expression of shocked horror.

Feliciano tilted his head at him. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

The plastic wrapping may have been slightly crumpled – due to it being rustled around with his books all morning – but the present itself still looked okay, so he wasn't sure what his friend's problem was.

"Vh... Vhat...?"

"Hmm?"

"... Vhat _is_ zis?!"

Feliciano jumped at the sudden loud volume. He'd never been good with scary noises. "W-Well, it's a rose..."

"I can _see_ zat!" Ludwig slowly took the blood red flower, staring at it like it had grown a mouth and was speaking to him. "But... vhy are you giving it to me?"

"Well, it's a late Valentine's Day present! So, buon belated San Valentino~!"

"A V... V..." There was a long pause. "_Vhy vould you be giving me zis_?"

Feliciano jumped in fright again. Sometimes, he'd forget why he'd been so scared of Ludwig in the first place. It was days like this that reminded him.

"Ehh?"

Ludwig looked up at him, eyes wild. "You barely even know me! Ve've only been friends for about two veeks! Zat's not enough time for zis type of gift!"

"... It's not?"

"Nein!" Ludwig paused. "Vait a minute... unless..." He paused again, suddenly looking panicked. "H-How long?"

"How long?"

"Ja!" Feliciano jumped again. "How long have you felt zis vay?"

"Huh? W-Well... since the other night?"

"_Ze ozer night_? Vhat do you mean _ze ozer night_?"

"W-Well... exactly that."

Ludwig's eyes were almost spinning in their sockets. "But... but I don't understand! Ve barely know each ozer!"

"Well, that's true, but..."

"N-Nein! Nein! I'm sorry. Zis is just too much... and too soon! I appreciate your feelings, but I..." Ludwig face was slightly red as he held out the rose.

"Eh?"

"I just don't know you vell enough to accept zem! I'm very sorry!"

Feliciano stared at him, his mind whirling. "So... you don't-a want it?"

"Ja. I mean, nein! I mean..."

Feliciano looked at the ground sadly. "Oh..." He paused. "So... you don't-a want to be friends anymore?"

"... Huh?"

"You don't-a want my flower... so, you don't-a want to be friends anymore?"

"... Vait, vhat?"

He was used to people not wanting to be around him, but, somehow, this time stung that little bit more. As he felt his vision clouding over, he smiled up at the German.

"Okay, I understand~! It was fun while it lasted, but I'll leave you alone now. Ciao, Ludwig~!" He turned around and began walking away.

"V-Vait a minute!"

Stopping, he turned around. "Hmm?"

"Vhere are you going, you _dummkopf_? I never said I... didn't vant... to be friends anymore..." Hope blossomed in Feliciano's chest. Ludwig's face turned a slightly darker shade of red as he looked away. "I just..." He fidgeted. "Zis rose..."

Feliciano rubbed away the tears. "You don't-a like flowers?"

"Nein. I mean, ja, it's just... zat's not ze issue here!"

"Eh?"

"If... if you have zese kinds of feelings for me, zen zey need to be addressed!"

"... But you already knew I liked you!"

Ludwig looked directly at him. "Not like _zis_, I didn't!"

"... Like what?"

Ludwig paused, staring long and hard at him. After a long silence, he heaved a sigh through his nostrils. "Feliciano..."

"Si?"

"... Just vhy did you give me zis rose?"

Feliciano smiled. "It's just-a like I said! It's a belated Valentine's Day present!" One of Ludwig's eyebrows twitched. "It-a was Valentine's Day a couple of weeks ago, but we weren't-a friends a couple of weeks ago... otherwise, I would've given it to you then!"

"... Huh? Vait, but... you said..."

"I gave flowers out to all my friends! And even some pretty girls~" Feliciano chuckled to himself, a slight blush on his face. "But, since I was terrified of you, you didn't-a get any! Then I realised the other night that I never got to give you a flower! So, I went and got-a you one!"

Ludwig blinked once. Then twice. Then he promptly smacked a hand to his face.

"I... see..."

"But, if you don't-a like flowers, then I won't-a get them again..."

"... Nein, zat's not..." Ludwig heaved a colossal sigh. "Feliciano..."

"Si?"

"You have no idea vhat a red rose means in Germany, do you?"

"Hmm? It means something?"

"Ja... especially if it's meant as a Valentine's Day present..."

"Oh, really? What does it mean?"

"... It... It's a..." He mumbled the rest of the sentence.

"Hmm? Sorry, what?"

Ludwig's face – which remained half-hidden behind his hand – now resembled a tomato. "It's a... con... fession of... love..."

Feliciano's eyes snapped open. "_Eh_? _Really_?"

"Ja... vhich is vhy... I zought..." He didn't continue.

The Italian took a few moments to process this. "So... you thought I was...?" He paused, closing his eyes and processing it further. Then he burst out laughing. "You thought I was confessing to you?"

Ludwig's hand flew away from his face angrily. "It's not _zat_ funny!"

"Oh, it's hilarious!"

Closing his eyes and grumbling, Ludwig looked away.

"Oh, Ludwig! And I was scared you didn't want to be my friend anymore!" He chuckled.

"Nein..."

"So, you want to keep hanging out and being friends?"

"... Ja."

"Yay, I'm so happy~"

"Ja, ja..." Rolling his eyes, Ludwig opened his bag to put the rose inside it.

"Oh, wait!" Feliciano stepped forwards, taking the rose from Ludwig's hand. "Don't-a you want to show it off? Like a display of our friendship, or something?"

"... Nein. It'll look ridiculous."

"No, it won't~" Feliciano paused a moment to think, then an idea struck him. Beaming, he gently placed the wrapped rose into Ludwig's blazer pocket, resting it so that its petals were proudly on display. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. "There we go~"

Ludwig looked down at it, then groaned.

* * *

><p>Later, as they sat together on the grass at lunchtime, Feliciano couldn't help but smile as he watched Ludwig remove the rose from his pocket before he sat down, then place it gently on the floor beside him. Had he been keeping it safe this entire time? How nice of him!<p>

Fishing around in his bag, he pulled out two plastic sandwich boxes and handed one to his friend.

"Here you go~!" he said.

"Danke," Ludwig replied, taking the box.

"Oh, by the way! I never asked when-a your birthday is!"

Ludwig paused. "Vell... ve've actually passed it already. It vas in October."

"Oh, really? Well, I guess we'll just have to celebrate it _next_ year, then!"

Ludwig looked him directly in the eyes. He held the gaze for a few moments before looking away again. "Uh, ja..."

"My birthday's next month! So we can celebrate _that_ one together, if you like~!"

"... Uh, sure."

"We can go to _my_ house and have pizza and pasta and play party games and-"

"Ohon, so it _is_ true~!" a voice said.

Looking up, Feliciano saw three familiar faces approaching. He smiled at them. "Ciao, Big Brother Francis! Big Brother Antonio! Gilbert!"

The three friends stopped in front of them, all with smug looks on their faces.

"I can't believe you, Ludwig!" Gilbert cried. "You didn't tell me you'd made a friend! And here I zought you vere _never_ going to make any!"

"Si," Antonio said, "and little Feliciano, of all people! Muy muy surprising! We thought you were frightened of him, mi amigo!"

"Well, si, I was~!" Feliciano replied. "But then I found out he's really nice!"

Gilbert snorted. "Vell, sure, vhen he gets zat humongous stick out of his arsch," he replied. "I like to call it Herr Stick!"

"Ohonhon, zat's a good one, mon ami~!" Francis said.

Feliciano heard Ludwig heave a sigh next to him.

"Vell, of course it is! I'm awesome!"

Francis chuckled. "Oui, oui..."

"Eizer vay, you made a good choice, little bro! Ze awesome Gilbert approves!"

"Oui~! Do look after our little Feli, won't you?"

Feliciano chuckled. "Big Brother Francis~!" he said. "I told-a you to stop calling me that!"

"Oui, I know, mon ami, but zis is just too-"

"Holy scheisse!" Gilbert cried, tears of laughter in his eyes. He pointed at something. "Is zat vhat I zink it is?"

Francis looked where Gilbert was pointing, then smirked. "Ohonhonhonhon~! What do we 'ave 'ere, zen~?" He sidled over in one smooth motion and plucked the rose off the grass. "So delicately wrapped... so expertly cut... Is zis a present~?"

"N-!" Ludwig said.

"Si~!" Feliciano replied. "I bought it for Ludwig as a Valentine's present!"

The three friends burst out laughing.

"Sacré bleu!" Francis cried. "I'd 'eard you two were close, but I didn't zink you were _zis_ close!"

"Oh, man, bro!" Gilbert cried. "I didn't know you svung zat vay!"

"It's not like zat!" Ludwig yelled.

"Oh, it's not?" Antonio asked. "Then what is it like, mi amigo?"

"It... I... Ve're just friends! Zat's all!"

Feliciano turned to smile at them. "Si!" he said. "We're friends! I only got him a rose because I thought it was pretty and thought that he'd like it, but then he blew a gasket, because he thought I was confessing to him!"

The three friends laughed louder.

"Oh, man!" Gilbert wheezed, doubling over.

"That is priceless!" Antonio said.

Francis wiped a tear from his eye. "Ahhh..." he said wistfully, "j'adore l'amour~!"

"You do know vhat red roses mean to a German, right?" Gilbert asked, still laughing.

"Si~!" Feliciano replied. "Well, _now_ I do, because Ludwig explained."

"Not _just_ to a German!" Antonio said.

"Oui," Francis said. "Red roses are ze symbol of love in _many_ countries!"

"Yeah," Gilbert agreed, "zough ze message is particularly strong in Germany!"

"'ow you could not know zis, mon ami, is beyond me~!"

"Si!" Antonio said. "Especially since Italy is one of the countries of love!"

Feliciano chuckled in mild embarrassment as he scratched the back of his neck. "My bad~!" he replied.

Beside him, Ludwig smacked a hand to his face.


	6. House Call

Author's note: Howdy, y'all! Welcome to another instalment of my fic, Of Lyns and Lums! Haha. (It chronicles the ongoing adventures of Lyn from Fire Emblem and Lum from Urusei Yatsura and- I'm just going to shut up now.)

Anyway!

... This fic gets awfully cutesy for a friendship fic, doesn't it? XD Well, not only is their relationship really like this in canon, it'll feed into the romance fic later. Promise.

All who simply want friendship can just stop reading when this fic ends (which is a few chapters away yet). Those who want romance can continue on to the sequel.

Anway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

P.S. This chapter wouldn't have existed if not for VGS2's input. So, you can thank him for its existence!

... In fact, he provided inspiration for the fic's title, too. 'The Lion and the Lamb', he said. I kind of liked it, so I put my own spin on it.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Six<strong>**: House Call**

Ludwig stood in the middle of the park, one hand in his coat pocket and away from the cold March air. The other was holding his school bag on his shoulder, despite the lack of a school uniform.

Just how long was Feliciano going to take? He'd specifically told him to wait here – and he'd arrived well within the time he'd been told to – but the verdammt Italian was half an hour late! He'd have to scold him for this.

"Ciao, Ludwig~!" a voice called out.

He sighed and turned to his friend. It vaguely occurred to him that this was the first time they'd seen each other in casual clothing, but he pushed that thought to one side.

"You're late, Feliciano!" he replied.

Feliciano chuckled. "Sorry~!"

Ludwig grunted. "You need to take responsibility for your actions und turn up vhen you _say_ you're going to turn up! Or else you're-"

Feliciano grabbed his arm and started dragging him. "Enough talk, let's go!"

"H-Hey! I vasn't done scolding you yet! Feliciano!"

* * *

><p>Ludwig sat on a stool in Feliciano's kitchen, trying to feel at home. However, it was a little difficult with Lovino throwing him dirty looks across the room. There was also the fact that the area around him wasn't as spotless as he would like, but he was trying to ignore that.<p>

This was the first time he'd been in Feliciano's house. He'd been shown in by his bubbly parents before being taken to the kitchen by Feliciano. Lovino had been less than happy to see him.

What he _hadn't_ been expecting to see, however, was his brother, Gilbert. Apparently, Feliciano's two 'big brothers' had been invited, but had subsequently invited their friend, as well. He sighed as the three of them ran around the large kitchen, generally making nuisances of themselves.

It was a nice house. It was large and showy with lots of beautiful paintings and decorations. The spacious kitchen was lined with advanced cooking equipment and spice racks containing things his own family would likely leave in the cupboard for years on end.

"Sorry about that!" Feliciano said, perching on the adjacent stool. "I had to talk to my mom for a bit~!"

"It's fine," Ludwig replied.

"Hey, if it isn't ze birzday boy!" Gilbert called out.

"It's _my_ birthday, too, you bastard!" Lovino snarled.

Gilbert waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, happy birzday, Mr. Prissy Pants."

"Our little Feli is one year older~" Francis said.

"It probably won't be as wild as _my_ party last month," Antonio said with a smile, "but we'll still make it a night to remember, mi amigo!"

"It's _my_ birthday, too!" Lovino snarled again.

"Thanks, guys~" Feliciano replied.

* * *

><p>A while later, Mr. and Mrs. Vargas had officially opened the buffet and everyone present was filling their plastic plates with Italian snacks. Francis and Antonio had taken to pestering Lovino – who was grumbling curse words and trying to edge away from them – while Gilbert was chatting to Feliciano.<p>

"I still have no idea how you put up viz him, honestly," Gilbert said, loading garlic bread onto his plate. "Ze awesome Gilbert is suitably impressed."

Ludwig sighed through his nostrils.

"Heh~" Feliciano replied. "Well-"

Before Ludwig could hear any more, someone's arm landed across his shoulders. He leapt up in surprise, whirling to face his attacker.

What he saw was an old grinning Italian man with an insane amount of curls jutting out of his hair.

"So, you must-a be Ludwig, huh?" he asked.

"Uh, ja..." Ludwig replied.

"I've heard a lot about-a you! Big and strong and German!" He paused a moment. "And Feliciano wasn't-a kidding! You remind-a me of me in my younger days."

"Um... who are you, exactly?"

The man mock-gasped. "You don't-a know _me_?" He grinned, flashing his teeth. "I'm Roma! Feliciano's grandpa! Don't tell me he's never mentioned-a me?"

Ludwig blinked. "Oh. Ja. Ja, he has. I've just never met you before. I apologise."

"Oh, don't-a worry about it! Just promise me you'll look after my grandson! He's-a my pride and joy, you know!" He paused again. "Plus, he's not-a like me. I'm a fighter and he's... more of a lover."

"Uh, ja..."

"And, since you're his big and strong friend, would-a you look after him?"

Ludwig gave a small sigh. "Ja, ja... I promise."

Roma beamed at him. "Good!" He paused again, staring at Ludwig. After a moment, he leaned forward and squinted at him.

Uncomfortable, Ludwig leaned backwards. "Uh..."

"Hmm." Roma moved back again. "Funny. You remind-a me of someone."

"... Ozer zan _you_, you mean?"

"Si. Someone I knew a long-a time ago. He-"

"Dad, can-a you help me with something?" a masculine voice called out from the other room.

"Oh, that's-a my son calling." Roma removed his arm from around Ludwig's shoulders. "Well, I'll see you later, Ludwig. Ciao!" Saluting him with two fingers, he walked away.

Ludwig watched him leave, frowning in confusion at the man's last statement. After a few moments, however, he shook his head and ignored it. It probably wasn't important.

* * *

><p>After everyone had filled up on snacks and birthday cake – all of which, Ludwig had to admit, had been quite delicious – it was time to hand out presents. Currently, Antonio was on the other side of the room, giving Lovino his present. Meanwhile, on Ludwig's side of the room, Feliciano was looking up at the German with an expectant smile.<p>

He felt his face go slightly warm. It wasn't as though he'd struggled to find the perfect present for Feliciano. No. It also wasn't as though he'd spent four straight hours scouring his local shopping centre last week. Of course not. He just didn't want his new friend to dislike his present. The first present that he'd ever bought him. The first present that he'd bought for someone besides his family for a very long time.

"Um..." he said awkwardly, "... here." He thrust the box in Feliciano's direction. For some odd reason, he wasn't quite able to look him in the eye. He paused a moment before realising what he was supposed to say. "Happy birzday..."

"Yay!" Feliciano replied, taking the box. "Grazie, Ludwig~"

"You're velcome..."

Feliciano tore into the wrapping paper like it had insulted his mother. Ludwig tried to focus his gaze back on his friend, but he still wasn't able to. It was incredibly frustrating.

"Huh?" Focusing his attention back on Feliciano, he saw him pulling his present out of the box. The Italian smiled. "Aww, how cute~! Kitty stationery!"

Ludwig proudly straightened himself out. "Ja. Zere's a whole pencil case, plus a notebook."

Feliciano placed the box on the table and rifled through the pencil case. Ludwig watched as he picked out a pen, a pencil, an eraser, a ruler, a protractor and a compass, all of which had pictures of cats on them.

Feliciano giggled to himself. "Heracles will be so jealous~"

Ludwig had no idea who Heracles was, but he wasn't about to ask.

After putting all the stationery back and placing the pencil case on the table, Feliciano pulled out the notebook – which was also covered in pictures of cats – and flipped through it.

Ludwig cleared his throat. "Since ze mid-terms are coming up, I figured stationery und a notebook vould be practical." He paused. "Plus, I zought, since you like cats, I should get you some viz cats on zem..."

Feliciano smiled up at him. "Heh, that's so like-a you, Ludwig! It's a strange present, but I appreciate it. Grazie!"

Ludwig felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. "You're velcome."

"I don't-a really study, though."

Ludwig sighed. "Ja, I know... zough you really should. You don't vant to fail ze mid-terms."

"I wont~"

Ludwig gave him a light glare. "You can't know zat!"

"I rarely ever study and I've done alright _so_ far~"

"... How did you even get _into_ Vorld Academy in ze first place?"

"Hee, I must just be really smart!" Feliciano took one step forward and promptly tripped on something. "Wah!" Clinging to his notebook, he fell forwards, landing with his face on Ludwig's chest. He looked up, grinning. "Whoops."

Ludwig rolled his eyes, then pushed Feliciano back to his feet. "Dummkopf."

"Hehe~"

Ludwig sighed. "How about... ve study togezer?"

Feliciano blinked at him. "Eh?"

Ludwig looked away. "You can come to _my_ house after school und ve can study togezer... if you like."

There was a pause. It took so long for a reply that Ludwig impatiently looked back at Feliciano. The Italian seemed to be giving this proposal a great deal of thought.

"Feliciano?"

"Well... I don't-a like studying, but I like _you_... so..." Feliciano smiled. "Okay then~!"

* * *

><p>In Ludwig's room, the two friends sat at opposite ends of a small desk, their books, notebooks and stationery in front of them. Feliciano couldn't help but notice that, while his own stationery had cute kitties on it, Ludwig's was plain and boring.<p>

Speaking of boring, that's what this study session was. He'd quickly lost interest in actually studying and had taken to sketching in his kitty notebook. Taking a slight break, he tapped his kitty pencil against his chin in thought.

His friend certainly had an interesting family. Not only did Ludwig, much like himself, live with his grandfather – he'd been quite surprised by the similarity – but both he and the father were the spitting images of Ludwig. Tall and muscular with blonde hair, blue eyes and stern faces. He supposed the scariness must run in the family. The mother, however, looked a little more like Gilbert. Smaller – yet still far more muscular than himself – but lacking Gilbert's silver hair and red eyes.

Upon meeting them – especially the father and grandfather – he'd been rather intimidated. After a few moments of cowering behind Ludwig, he'd had to remind himself that, like his friend, they were probably nicer people than they looked. So far, he hadn't been proven wrong, as the father had given him a drink and a snack and the mother – while wearing a very Gilbert-like smirk – had said it was about time her youngest son made some friends. Ludwig had grumbled in response. Feliciano smiled to himself at the memory.

"Zat doesn't look like studying!" Ludwig suddenly said.

Feliciano jumped a foot in the air and shrieked. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he cried.

Ludwig heaved a sigh, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "You do vant to pass ze mid-terms, don't you?"

"Well, si, but studying is so booooring..."

"It's not meant to be fun! It's meant to be educational!" Feliciano made a whining noise in response. "Now, get back to studying."

As Ludwig continued taking notes, Feliciano stared miserably at his notebook. Then he glanced at his textbook. Then back at his notebook. Then he continued sketching.

After a while of sketching without his friend noticing, he thought of something.

"Hey, Ludwig?"

"Ja?"

"Are you doing anything for spring break?"

"Isn't it a bit soon to be asking about zat? Ze exams come first, after all."

"Si, I know! But I wondered if you wanted to hang out during spring break! Maybe we could-a go to the beach, or something!"

There was a slight pause. "Ja, perhaps... zough focus on your studying, first."

"Aww..."

There was another pause. "Zat still doesn't look like studying!" The German put his pen down, reached over and grabbed Feliciano's notebook. "Honestly, it's a vonder you ever got into zis... school..." He stared at the page.

"I'm sorry, Ludwig! I wanted to study, I really did!" Feliciano paused. "Actually, no, that's a lie, I didn't-a want to study at all, but that's only because I have the attention span of a rodent and, now that I say that, it's got-a me thinking about pasta and thinking about pasta's making me hungry-"

"Feliciano."

"Si?"

"You drew zis?"

"Huh? Well, si."

"It's... really good."

Feliciano smiled. "Oh, you really think so? It's pretty rough, but I think I did okay~"

"... Rough, he says..." Ludwig paused. "I vish I could draw zis vell..."

"Oh, well, grazie!" Suddenly, a thought came to Feliciano. "Would-a you like to see my sketchbook?"

Ludwig glanced over at him, a conflicted look in his eyes. "But ve're supposed to be studying..."

"We can study later!" Feliciano reached into his bag and dug around. "You can afford to take a _little_ break!" Finding his sketchbook, he pulled it out and held it over the desk for his friend. "Here you go~!"

Ludwig paused again, then put the notebook down to take the sketchbook. "Danke." He began to flip through it. His eyes widened. "... Vow... zese are really good..."

"Heh, grazie~"

"You veren't kidding vhen you said art vas your best subject..."

"Well, you know~"

"Hmm..." Ludwig went back a few pages. "Still life..." He slowly flipped forward a few pages. "Abstract art..." He flipped forward a few more pages. "Portraits of ozer students..." He flipped forward a few more pages, then stared at the page he'd landed on. "Und self-portraits..." He paused as he continued to stare at it. After a moment, he looked up at Feliciano, then back down at the page. "It looks just like you."

"You think so?"

"Ja." Ludwig looked up at him again, then back down at the page. "Ze lines are perfect."

Feliciano tried not to sound too smug. "Well, they're alright, I suppose~"

"Very impressive." Ludwig continued to stare at the page for a few more moments, then seemed to snap out of his trance. He quickly closed the sketchbook and put it back on the table before pushing it towards his friend. "But zat's enough of zat. Ve have studying to do."

Feliciano's smile dropped. "Aww... do we have to?"

Ludwig gave him a hard stare. "Ja. Ve do. Now, put your sketchbook avay, so ve can concentrate."

"Okay..." Feliciano did as he was told.

As he was straightening up in his chair again, he heard Gilbert's voice drifting down the hallway.

"Ja, zey're fine..." he said, "zough you should've seen zem at Antonio's party last monz!" He laughed. "Francis vas flirting viz everyzing on legs und Toni vas passed out on ze floor!" He paused. "Ja, I know, but Francis got hold of some beer und vine for us!" He paused again, then laughed. "Ja, I know!" He paused again. "Nah, _I_ didn't get drunk. I'm far too awesome!"

He passed by the open door, a cordless phone pressed to his ear.

Feliciano waved to him. "Ciao, Gilbert!"

Gilbert stopped walking, grinned and waved back. "Hey, Feliciano!" He paused. "Ludwig's new friend." He paused again, then laughed as he continued walking down the hallway. "I know, right? I zought he'd _never_ get von!" He paused again, then laughed. "Good von, Dad!" Soon, his voice drifted away.

Slightly confused by this final statement, Feliciano turned to his friend with a smile. "Ludwig, why is Gilbert on the phone to his dad when he's right downstairs?"

Ludwig gave a light sigh. "He's talking to his _ozer_ fazer. Ze von over in Germany."

Feliciano's face lit up in recognition. "Ohhhh..." He paused. "That's-a right... I sometimes forget-a you're half-brothers."

"Ja."

"So, does his other dad look-a more like _him_?"

"From ze pictures I've seen of him, ja. _He_ has silver hair und red eyes, too."

Feliciano was surprised. "Really? I thought-a Gilbert was albino."

"Nein. Albinos have vhite hair und pink eyes. Zough I guess I could see vhy you vould zink he's albino."

"Si! He's the only person I know who looks-a like that!"

"Vell, it's genetic. Maybe it's his Prussian heritage, or vhatever."

Feliciano smiled. "That's pretty cool!"

"Ja." Ludwig paused, then picked up his pen. "Now, it's back to studying!"

"Aww, poop..."

Ludwig pointed the bottom end of the pen in his direction. "No complaining!"

"Okay, okay..." Feliciano picked up his pencil.

"... Zat's a pencil, Feliciano."

Dang, he'd noticed. Sulking, Feliciano put it down and replaced it with a pen.


End file.
